I remember receiving the first edition of this newsletter about seven years ago, when I was working as a customer service representative at a food magazine. And now, for one day only, I’m the writer. Life comes at you fast! This is Priya Krishna, by the way.
I’m writing to you from Tulsa, as I’m crisscrossing the country for our annual list of the most exciting places to dine in America. My acid reflux aside, there have been so many memorable meals. Sonoran wheat croissants in Phoenix; jerk chicken in Austin; banana leaf-wrapped dumplings in Philadelphia. I can’t wait to share the final list in the fall.
During the summer, travel tends to shift my focus away from enjoying New York City. So, inspired by my colleague Nikita Richardson, I’ve made a bucket list for the next two months: trying every ice cream shop within a two-mile radius of my apartment, seeing a drive-in movie, attending a baseball game and finally seeing my hometown heroes, the Chicks, live.
Some people are effortless hosts; I am not one of them, so I rely on make-ahead recipes for drinks and food. Like sweet tea — perhaps spiked with a glug of whiskey? Or an orzo salad with peppers and feta (Orzo: the rare pasta you can let sit in a sauce for a long time).
I almost always have ingredients on hand for these cold, peanut butter-laced noodles. And a sure hit is a chaat party, where I’ll put out chakri, sev, boiled potatoes, onions, tomatoes and chutneys and let people assemble their own snacks.
Now for some dishes I’m loving for this first summer weekend: Darun Kwak’s kimchi bibim guksu is a hands-off lunch that’s mostly assembly. The fresh corn at the store looked too sad for this summery corn pasta from Melissa Clark, but frozen sweet corn worked beautifully. I made Yewande Komolafe’s roasted mushroom larb for my pregnant sister who needed wholesome food with flavor. And in a moment of inspiration, I used the sauce I made for Kay Chun’s sesame salmon bowls as the base for Hetty McKinnon’s stir-fried cucumbers with tofu. The recipe purports to serve four, but [whispers] I ate it all in one sitting.
Though I talk a big game about my summer plans, realistically, I will spend plenty of nights watching television on my couch. I can’t wait to see my TV crush Harvey Guillén in the new season of “What We Do in the Shadows,” which debuts on July 12 on FX. I’m deep into “Ms. Marvel” on Disney+ and in love with Iman Vellani. And the new season of “Rutherford Falls” on Peacock is even smarter and funnier than the previous one.
If you live in New York and want more suggestions for summer activities, The Times has a whole newsletter dedicated to that, helmed by three talented writers, Julia Carmel, Michael Gold and Korsha Wilson.
Speaking of Korsha, she has a great story about the oysterman known as Moody, who’s behind the Real Mother Shuckers in Brooklyn, and the longtime connection between African Americans and oystering.
I’m @priyakrishna on Instagram and Twitter. Send me a message if you enjoyed this! Maybe the powers that be bring me back for another round.
